May Theme - Artisan

The first day of each month the City Daily Photo community bring you an image from a theme decided by the members of the community.  This month is the artisan.

The talented young artist whose work is shown here can be found here

Everyone was interested in the crafts on display at the artists open studio day.

Pullens  Yards was purpose built in Victorian times to enable artisans and small traders to live and work there. They were designed with a small flat upstairs and a workshop at ground level. Then you would have found clog makers, brush makers or manufacturers of ships' fans.

There was a period of abandonment but they were brought back to life in 1979, continuing with the original intent of providing space for artists.  Now you'll find silversmiths, artists, bookbinders and furniture makers.

Made in Britian

There are some wonderful foods produced in Britain, despite what the French would have you believe. When I was living in France the cheese makers I spoke to told me of the problems them had trying to get a new generation interested in making the artisan cheeses. Most are now industrially made by large companies. Here in the UK the reverse is happening and there is a growing artisan market, not just in cheese but in a variety of foods.
The growers are fighting back against the supermarkets who dictate how food will be produced. Just the other day I read that one of the supermarkets wouldn't buy local carrots because the shape wasn't perfect. They would rather have perfect flown from the other side of the world.
As a result we are seeing more and more local markets where the growers and independent producers are selling direct to us.
Made in Britain is one such market. You'll find them in Central St Giles in Holborn every Saturday and Sunday.
I bought a couple of those cheeses last week. Delicious!